


One

by deareststars



Series: music is the only pleasure we have [9]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Gender Neutral, Invisibility, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, i didn't realize this before but reader is NOT a hargreeves in this (at least i'm pretty sure), she's probably just one of the 43 that got looped into the commission's bullshit, still platonic although some hints of romance, takes place during the shootout at the department store
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23834140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deareststars/pseuds/deareststars
Summary: He held his hand out. "I know it's late, but can you come with me? There's something I need to check.""'Something you need to check?'" you repeated with a quirked eyebrow. "Is it important?""Well, no--"You were already reaching to the side for a pair of pants, your shoes, and a coat. "Give me like five minutes to change and I'll be with you in a second. You can come inside; it's freezing out there...and are you still wearing those stupid shorts? Five, you're going to catch a cold at this rate, I'm surprised you haven't died from natural causes yet."--based off of "one" by three dog night
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Reader
Series: music is the only pleasure we have [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1310051
Comments: 1
Kudos: 72





	One

**Author's Note:**

> holy mother of god it has been ages since i've written for this fandom, i am so terribly sorry for the wait!
> 
> i was contemplating waiting until the release of season 2 until this whole quarantine was set, so now i have nothing else to do and i've been getting a helluva strong writing urge. that's when i thought to myself, "why not fall back on my fanfics?!"
> 
> that's where this came from lmao. bear with me if this is a little ooc or bad in general!

You flinched as someone knocked on your door. You looked over at the clock, your movements sluggish and your eyes bleary from the sleep you had been jolted out of. It was almost midnight. Who the hell would be visiting you this late? You didn't even know anyone in this time period yet, save for Five, the motel clerk, and the cleaner lady. Oh God, you hoped you hadn't done something stupid already without knowing; the last thing you needed was someone on your case--!  
  


The knocks grew more insistent. You rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the door, trying to tame your unruly hair and straighten your clothes. You didn't bother with pulling on a pair of pants before you got to the door, but when you swung it open and mumbled a "Hello?" you kind of wished you had.

Five's eyes widened a little before focusing back on you. He whispered your name and the simple tone of desperation in his voice almost immediately snapped you out of your daze. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

"Oh no," you said as you crossed your arms. Those were two words that rarely left his mouth and for him to like that for something that wasn't that big of a deal... "What happened?"

He flinched. "N-Nothing!"

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, and I can't turn invisible at will. Five, you never apologize for shit like this, not to mention you usually just pop into my room whenever you so choose, so something has to be up." You stepped to the side and gestured for him to come inside, but the mood only grew weirder as he stayed where he was. You stood a little taller and stared him right in the eyes, unable to help the concern that made your heart beat a little faster. "Five...?"

He held his hand out. "I know it's late, but can you come with me? There's something I need to check."

"'Something you need to check?'" you repeated with a quirked eyebrow. "Is it important?"

"Well, no--"

You were already reaching to the side for a pair of pants, your shoes, and a coat. "Give me like five minutes to change and I'll be with you in a second. You can come inside; it's freezing out there...and are you still wearing those stupid shorts? Five, you're going to catch a cold at this rate, I'm surprised you haven't died from natural causes yet."

He let out a dry laugh and averted his gaze out of politeness as you pulled your clothes on and ran a hand through your hair to tame it. "For a second, I thought you were acting out of character as well, but there's the parental figure I know and love," he teased. You narrowed your eyes when you immediately heard a lack of venom in his voice. Christ, the poor guy must really be out of sorts if he couldn't deliver his usual witty one liners the way he always did.

When you got back to the door, you took his outstretched hand and closed your eyes to prepare for the jump. It wasn't anything you weren't used to. When you and Five still worked for the Commission and the Handler put you two on missions together, you had a lot of opportunities to get used to the way your stomach seemed to fold in on itself and gravity seemed to be determined to crush your head like a hydraulic press. Even now, the sensation was a bit odd, but it faded quickly and you looked around in surprise as blue light flooded your vision.

"A department store?" you whispered. You looked over at Five and felt his hand tighten around yours for a moment before letting go, as though trying to psych himself up for something. "Five, is there something you needed here? Are you finally going to listen to me and get a change of clothes?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, Jesus. Like I said, I just need to check something, you nagging halfwit."

"Ouch," you replied. You linked your hands behind your head and followed him, glancing at the shapeless figures in the darkness and feeling that familiar buzzing sensation creep up in the back of your head. You had the immediate urge to go invisible just out of paranoia, but when you refocused on Five in front of you, your nerves calmed just a little. As long as he was there, you didn't have anything to worry about.

Well, the weight of your gun in your pocket helped as well. Not to mention Five had grabbed a flashlight and was sticking a little closer to you.

Your confusion only grew more as Five stopped in front of a mannequin display. He looked up at the middle one with such an unfamiliar look of nostalgia and sadness in his eyes, the corners of his lips twitching upward in a faint yet genuine smile. You almost felt stupidly jealous. _Why?_ you demanded in your head, frustrated with your own emotions, but you snapped yourself out of it as he spoke. "Delores," he said, the name more like a breath from his lips than actual speech.

You put your hands on your hips and followed his gaze up to the mannequin. You had to admit, it was pretty jarring to see a face and hair on a mannequin. "Well, are you going to introduce us?" you asked, deciding to play along. You had your own share of embarrassing and weird habits. You couldn't be one to judge, especially given your shared profession.

He flinched. "Oh, right." He gestured from you to the mannequin. "This is Delores. She kept me company before the Handler found me. We've gotten a pretty strong bond over the years and it's good to see her again." He introduced you to Delores in the same fashion, and you couldn't help but feel a little warm when he described you as his partner in crime. "I've missed you...obviously," he continued, his words directed back up to Delores. "Well, I...It's been a rough couple of days."

You laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. For some reason, you couldn't take your eyes off Delores. "Yeah, it has."

It was quiet for just a moment. However, your hand involuntarily tensed on Five's shoulder as you saw two figures emerge from the darkness, their faces obscured with unidentifiable masks. The moment you placed what they were holding, you shouted, "Shit!"

"No!" Five yelled, unable to do anything as the figures opened fire on you and Five. He ducked and you followed, frozen for a moment as bullets flew over your heads. You saw Five's eyes widen in horror as the bullets came close to hitting Delores, but you couldn't let him get hurt.

"Five, move!" you hissed. You grabbed his arm and yanked him behind cover, turning around just in time to see Delores explode from the waist down and topple over. Before you could do anything, Five ran in a crouch over to the mannequin and grabbed her around the waist with an undeniable (and, quite frankly, stupid) gentleness. He dragged her back over to where you waited and set the mannequin down on the ground, whispering something under his breath before turning to you and nodding.

You activated your invisibility and hopped between clothing racks. You took your gun out and aimed, but your shots faltered and raced over the pair's heads as you realized who they were. Five rematerialized next to you a few squares down. "Shit, it's them!" he whisper-shouted, his eyes wide in your direction and lit up by the gunfire echoing off the walls of the store. You couldn't really nod, seeing as how you were invisible, but when he turned and jumped again you didn't hesitate to follow.

As you ran out from behind a mannequin, you let out a little squeal as a smattering of bullets pierced through the jewelry display right next to you. Five jumped forward and you took the opportunity of surprise to fire back a few shots at who you could only assume was Cha-Cha. She yelled in surprise as one of your shots hit her shoulder and you took the opportunity to run like Hell was on your tail.

You spotted Five as he reappeared behind a rack full of hunting equipment. "That's Hazel and Cha-Cha," you whispered as you watched him grab a knife from the display and take a few practice swings. He didn't flinch at your voice; all those years of working together had accustomed him to you speaking out of nowhere. "I thought we had at least a few more days before the Handler tracked us down!"

"Well, that looks like that's not the case anymore," he quipped back. He tossed the knife in the air once, caught it, and pointed around the rack. "You go for Hazel. I'll jump at Cha-Cha and try and at least incapacitate her."

"Roger that."

Five waited until the coast was clear and jumped while you ran around the back of the display. You spotted Hazel as he paused at another display and picked something up from the rack. You almost felt bad for trying to shoot him; compared to Cha-Cha, the man was a sweetheart, but when you heard Cha-Cha let out a grunt of pain and saw Hazel begin to open fire with his shotgun, you knew you had to act.

He shouted in surprise as your first shot nailed him right in the shoulder. He swung his shotgun around and you jumped back, just barely avoiding the barrel, but you disturbed a clothing rack. He followed the movement and immediately opened fire. You just barely got out of the way before you caught a chest full of bullets, but you felt one graze your arm and open up a surface wound. You hissed and booked it, following the sound of Five's sporadic jumps as he looped back around to grab his duffel bag (and probably Delores while he was at it).

You crouched in wait near one of the mannequin displays. The moment Five resurfaced from the clothing racks and began to run, Hazel and Cha-Cha spotted him and began to take aim. You grabbed two of the arms from the mannequins next to you and raised them over your head. The only downside of your powers was that it didn't translate to weapons or mannequin arms, but the initial surprise of seeing two arms appear out of nowhere was enough for Five to duck behind cover again and come to your side.

You threw the arms at Hazel and Cha-Cha and began to sprint. The bullet graze in your arm was starting to burn the longer and longer it went without treatment and you could feel your invisibility starting to waver. "Dammit, not now!" you hissed under your breath as you looked down at your hands and began to see them flicker into view.

Five looped around a clothing rack and tried to jump, but he only managed to scratch the surface of reality before his powers failed. He looked over at you and you could hear his heavy breathing. Judging by his wide and panicked eyes, your powers had failed, too. He attempted another jump, letting out a strand of curses as he looked over the top of the clothing racks. "We're gonna have to book it," he whispered after attempting another jump to no avail.

You nodded. The moment you heard another shotgun blast, you and Five began to run again. You resurfaced in front of a display of various lights and camping equipment and scrambled over the top, almost going prone on top of the display on instinct as bullets raced over your heads. You forced yourself to move and landed on the other side on your hands and knees. Five dropped to the ground on the other side with a grunt and you raced toward the entrance.

However, the flashlights on their guns stopped you in your tracks as they washed over you. You turned around and saw Five do the same, his expression like a deer caught in headlights. There was a brief moment between Hazel and Cha-Cha taking aim and the sound of the police cars pulling to a stop right outside the entrance. As they turned their attention toward the doors for a second, you and Five didn't hesitate to duck behind cover. His hand grabbed your arm tightly as though trying to reassure himself that you were still there and you clutched at the hem of his jacket just as desperately.

Finally, Hazel and Cha-Cha left and the sirens turned off as the police began to investigate the perimeter of the store. You and Five looked at each other and you saw your own wild panic reflected back in his eyes and the sweat on his face. He let out a little sigh and you rested your head on the display behind you, trying to take whatever chances you could to rest so you and Five could get the hell out of here.

"What are we gonna do?" he asked, his voice almost too loud in the deafening silence despite him speaking at a whisper. You looked over at him and found yourself finally at a loss for words. He let out a harsh little laugh and closed his eyes. "Figures."

The police came and went. The moment you were sure there was no one else around, you got to your feet and held a hand out to Five. He accepted your help graciously and shouldered his duffle bag, but you didn't miss the wince as something brushed against his arm. Your eyes widened a little as you saw the graze on his upper right bicep. "You're hurt," you said, reaching out and brushing your fingers against the blood-dampened sleeve of his jacket.

He glanced at your arm. "You are too." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't trust you staying at that shitty motel for tonight. Come with me back to the Academy. We can recuperate and get ourselves back in order there."

The authority in his voice gave you little choice but to obey, and you took his hand. Luckily, he had just enough energy left to jump to the entrance of the building, and you headed inside and up the stairs right behind him, trying to calm your shaky nerves from the shitty night you both had just had.

Two people walked along the second floor, crossing paths with you and Five. The first to speak was a beautiful, dark-skinned female that stared at you and Five in shock. "Five?" she demanded. "What the hell happened to you? And who's your friend?"

You and Five froze and turned to them. The second was a huge, blond man that looked as though he could crush you in his grip. Even his voice felt like a dominating force in the conversation. "Are you okay?" he asked, not paying attention to the girl's second question. "Can we help?"

He reached out for Five's arm. Even you flinched at the suddenness of his movement as Five seized the man's wrist with a strong grip. When you got a better look at his face, you knew immediately that it wasn't out of pure rage; it was out of frustration and hopelessness. "There's nothing you can do," he whispered. "There's nothing any of you can do." He dropped the man's hand and turned to storm away in the direction of what you could only assume was his room, leaving you to give the two strangers an awkward little bow and hurry after him.

The moment you got to his door, he pulled you inside and shut the door behind you. Before you could ask him what any of that was about, he grabbed your shoulders fiercely. For a moment, you thought he was going to shake you or yell at you for whatever reason, but instead he bowed his head and tightened his grip on your shoulders. He began to tremble and your lips parted slightly in surprise. You'd never seen him act like this before but you figured there was always a first time for everything. "I've never felt more devoid of hope in my entire life," he whispered, his voice shaky.

You tried for a smile. "Five, this isn't how you hug people."

He let out a dry laugh that sounded as brittle as autumn leaves. "I wouldn't know. I've never had a reason to hug anyone."

That simple sentence almost made your heart break. You moved his hands down from your shoulders and stepped forward to wrap your arms around his torso. He stiffened immediately on contact, obviously not used to this kind of affection, but slowly his arms lowered back down around you and rested awkwardly on your back. You didn't mind though; even after all this time, just being around Five made you feel safe.

_One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do_

_  
Two can be as bad as one_

_  
It's the loneliest number since the number one_


End file.
